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Tuesday, 3 November 2015

An Introduction to Katey Lovell - Author of the Meet Cute series

I'd like to introduce you to a new author; Katey Lovell. I can't explain how wonderful it makes me feel to welcome Katey to my blog today. You see, Katey is not only a great author, she is my friend. We were friends before she became a published author, but she's always been a writer.

I've known Katey for almost ten years. We met online through our love of books and reading and we really hit it off and try to meet up a couple of times per year at least. I'm much older than Katey and I feel like something of an honourary Aunt, or maybe a big Sister, and I am as proud as any family member would be of what she's achieved.

I've watched Katey grow from being a newly-married young woman. She's now a mother, she's changed jobs, she's had heartache and illnesses, but she's never given up. I always knew that she would succeed in her dream and see her books published.

It's my pleasure to welcome Katey to Random Things today. She's going to tell us why she decided to write her Meet Cute series using a pseudonym.

When I started submitting my writing to publishers and publications I had a big decision to make - what name would I use when promoting my work? Maybe my actual name? My maiden name or a variation of it? Or should I go for something completely different, a wild nom de plume totally detached from myself?

I remember asking the question on Twitter and a fair few writers responded. The vast majority of them said to use my real name, but that in itself was a bit of a conundrum for me. Although my given name is Kate, I have always used the nickname Katey online (a variant on the ‘Katie’ my family called me when growing up) and since 2012 I’ve used the alter ego Bunny Lovell, firstly through burlesque and later to run my book blog Books with Bunny (www.bookswithbunny.blogspot.co.uk).

I mulled it over for a long time. Would there be benefits of writing under a different name? Historically, writers have used a pseudonym for anonymity or to try to escape preconceptions about content via author name (or, more likely gender. Women writing under traditionally male names is probably more widely spoken of, but men writing under a female name or reducing their name to initials is also commonplace, particularly in genres such as romance which have a predominantly female readership).

I didn’t feel I needed to use a pseudonym for these reasons, but I still had a nagging feeling inside me that it was the right thing to do.

It was only when I thought about it some more that I realised writing is an escape for me. It’s a creative outlet where I don’t have to think about going to the supermarket or tackling the ironing pile. So although the words are written by Kate, they come from a different part of me than the mum who rushes around in a flap to get to football practice on time or the wife who knows just how her husband likes his coffee.

That’s why I use the name Katey Lovell when writing. It’s not a mask to hide behind, it’s a culmination of different parts of the visible me. Katey, the pet name I’ve had since childhood (albeit spelt differently) and Lovell, my great-grandmother’s maiden name which I have used as my own for previous creative exploits.

When I see ‘my’ name in print I feel just as much of a rush as I would if it was the same as the name on my credit cards because I know the words that follow are mine. And that’s what matters most.

Katey Lovell is the
author of The Meet Cute series. The Boyin the Bookshop, the first short story in the series was released on
October 29th, published by Harper Impulse, to be followed by The Boy at the Beach on November 5th
and The Boy at the Bakery on November
12th.Katey Lovell is fanatical about words. An avid reader, writer and poet, she once auditioned for Countdown and still tapes the show every night. Getting the conundrum before the contestants is her ultimate thrill.

She loves love and strives to write feel-good romance that'll make you laugh and cry in equal measure.

Originally from South Wales, Katey now lives in Yorkshire with her husband and their seven year old son.

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